


Stumbling In The Dark

by greycoupon



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Always take a map, F/M, Lost in the Woods, UST, season 6, wear comfortable shoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-12 22:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21233345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greycoupon/pseuds/greycoupon
Summary: Written for the prompt "“If I die, I’m going to haunt your ass.”  A walk in the woods goes wrong.  Always wear practical shoes.





	Stumbling In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober day 29! So close to the end here. I've got the start of a cute WIP tomorrow and something I think y'all will really like for Halloween. Feel free to keep sending prompts. I'm going to keep writing after the month is up. Just not every day. This story takes place in season 6 after they the X-Files back. Thanks to @postmodernpromartheus for the beta.

The third time Scully tripped, this time almost careening down an embankment into the rushing river below, she grabbed a tree branch to break her fall only to have it snap off due to her weight. Just as she was calculating what the exact velocity she would hit the water at was, Mulder grabbed her arm and yanked her back onto the trail.

“Thanks,” she told him and she struggled to get her heartbeat back under control.

“If I die, I’m going to haunt your ass.”

Mulder laughed. “But you don’t believe in ghosts.”

“For you I will make an exception.” She looked around. They were on a rocky trail, but she and Mulder didn’t have a clue where they were and it was getting dark. There were so many side trails, like the one they were on, that often dead ended or ran directly into a steep drop. 

“I told you to change your shoes before we left the car,” he reminded her.

Yes, he had, but it was supposed to be half a mile down an even trail and he wasn’t changing _his_ shoes. Of course, she was wearing heels, but they were low heels!

The hikers had reported seeing the creature near their campsite close to the trailhead. The trailhead that Mulder and Scully still hadn’t found.

Scully looked morosely at her feet. “Maybe I should just take them off and go barefoot. I’m wearing socks.”

Mulder was less than impressed with that idea. “There are lots of sharp rocks and bits of debris here. You’d cut up your feet. We’ve been wandering around for hours maybe we should stop and stay put. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do when you get lost?”

Scully thought it over. “The sheriff’s office must have noticed that we haven’t checked back in by now. .” She pulled her cell phone out only to see the ‘no signal’ message yet again. 

“It’s amazing, you get 5 seconds away from civilization and you’re cut off from the whole world.”

Mulder had a flash of purely altruistic genius. “I could carry you. “ At her look of incredulity he added, “a piggyback ride. “

Now Scully did laugh. “You’d wreck your back,” she pointed out.

“Nah, I’ve carried you before,” he reminded her, thinking of the snow and ice at the bottom of the world.

“Fine,” she conceded. “But let’s not wander around in the dark. As much as I hate to admit it, we should stay put until the sun comes back up. But if no one comes for us by then, you can carry me.”

“Giddy up,” Mulder cracked actually sounding a little enthused at the idea.

Scully pointed to a log in the rapidly fading twilight that was on flat, solid ground. 

“Let’s sit there for now.”

They sat and Mulder wondered how to pass the time. “We could play never have I ever?”

“Be serious.”

“Did I ever tell you the time I went Sasquatch hunting in British Columbia…”

Scully stifled a laugh and was glad it was too dark for him to see her rolling her eyes. “Do tell.”

They had spent endless hours in their 6 years together on planes, in rental cars and waiting around police stations big and small. She had heard this story twice before, but Mulder liked sharing so she let him. She loved the sound of his voice and would listen to him talk about anything. Well, almost anything.

Two hours, and many stories, later they heard shouts in the distance and soon spotted blindingly bright flashlights approaching.

They both got to their feet and waved. Not sure if they could see them, Mulder yelled “over here!”

To Scully he added, “too bad, I was really looking forward to that piggy back ride.”


End file.
